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What to Expect
Benefits and Risks
If knee pain has robbed you of some of life's simple pleasures–taking a walk, playing with your grandchildren, working in the garden–don't give up hope. With knee replacement surgery, you can again lead an active and satisfying life.
Benefits
Knee replacement surgery offers a number of benefits:
Improve your overall quality of life. With less pain and greater mobility, you'll be able to perform daily tasks and low-impact activities more easily and lead a more comfortable, more independent life. (You'll still need to avoid high-impact activities that might overload the new knee.)
Dramatically reduce knee pain. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), more than 90% of total knee replacement patients experience a dramatic reduction of knee pain.
Improve your range of motion. While your artificial knee won't be as good as your real knee was in its prime, its range of motion should noticeably increase. Most importantly, it will no longer keep you from living a normal, active life.
Enjoy years of performance. The most common long-term problem is the gradual loosening of the prosthesis, primarily due to the effects of your weight and activity level. In most cases, the artificial knee can be replaced.
The Procedure
Total Knee Replacement
During the procedure, diseased and damaged bone at the juncture of the femur and tibia is removed and the sites are "resurfaced" with a combination of plastic and metal components. The new surfaces will help eliminate friction and pain during movement. Your existing ligaments and muscles will maintain joint stability just as they do in a non-prosthetic knee.
